Depends on what outlets you have around you. I don't know anyone who offers a significant break on a case (48 cans) or 'half' case as most are packed nowadays.

Back in the old days, the companies didn't offer significant discounts until 12 cases were purchased for one shipment. For an individual or small facility, that's just way too many at one time.

If you're buying retail, I used to buy a 'case' a week for round robins, using coupons at the local big box store(usually 20-25% off total purchase).

In the 40 years I've been around tennis, there has never been a reasonable sized 'bulk' purchase deal that meant much to the final consumer. For a pro running tournaments, free freight and 8% off wholesale is a big deal. For an individual, the numbers just don't mean a whole lot UNLESS you are paying say...over $3/can for Championship balls. THEN, you might be able to find some savings in a bulk purchase. If you're an individual paying $2.25 per can at retail, I don't think you'll find significant savings in a quantity that makes sense.

Heck, it's an election year here in the States...gonna be hard to get a straight answer to ANY question.

I wasn't going to mention any names . A few years back, 'they' had the plastic tub with 15 cans for $30(Penn). Darned nifty re-usable tub with handles...great for collecting the round robin balls at the end, icing a few Powerades for courtside, storing stringing 'stuff', etc. I miss those tubs .

I wasn't going to mention any names . A few years back, 'they' had the plastic tub with 15 cans for $30(Penn). Darned nifty re-usable tub with handles...great for collecting the round robin balls at the end, icing a few Powerades for courtside, storing stringing 'stuff', etc. I miss those tubs .

Costco, $13 for 4 can of US open is not bad at all. OK, I still need to pay tax...

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From what I've seen recently, the $2 benchmark for legit balls is slowly fading into the sunset. It's looking closer to $2.25 as a standard; but $3.25 for US Open from Costco??? Am I reading that right??? You on Maui or sumthin'?

Speaking of collecting used balls, there was a tour player in Atlanta(ca 1990) who would hit at our public facility when he was in town. He and his hitting coach would buy 6 cans of balls from the shop, work out on the clay for a couple of hours and drop the balls into the Pros' collection basket on the way out. They would also sweep the courts and the lines when they finished...nearly unheard of on public courts 'back then'. Pretty cool, I reckon.

I have heard that retailers don't really make that much money on tennis balls. There's really no mark up. Perhaps that's why buying a 24 bulk box isn't cheaper per can than individually.

And btw, if memory serves I think balls were around 2 bucks back in the 80's. Thirty years later still around the same. What's that say..??

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You're right about the lack of margin at the retail level. To get shelf space and volume, some of the ball suppliers would 'throw in' hard goods as a way for the dealer to 'make some money' even though they were selling balls at or below their delivered cost. As a sales rep back in the '80s, I'd say my commission on some ball orders was higher than the margins made by the manufacturer OR the retailer.

Felt and rubber prices were all over the place and I'm sure the buyers at the manufacturing level were going nuts trying to keep costs down. When the Dunlop balls were made in Georgia, the felt came from the carpet mills just 'down the road'. Now, everything gets shipped halfway around the world!(Sorry if I'm speaking provincially about life in the States)

Switching to the plastic tubes away from the metal cans was a big reason the costs were held down back in the '80s. I never weighed a case of balls in metal cans, but I can assure you it was considerable(I carried hundreds over the years!)...quite a change going to plastic.

Two to three bucks for a can of balls is a BARGAIN! I guess it evens out when 'we' pay $70 for a polyester shirt or over a hundred for a bicycle jersey !!! The universe likes balance .

Funny, spending more than $2/can for three balls just seems like a letdown. Especially when a 4-ball can was $2.49 or less for Wilson or Dunlops. Lucky?

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Exactly! I bought dozens and dozens of the 4-ball 4-can Dunlops over the years. Four-ball can is the way to go! 'Might' make it through a match without one or more balls going bald AND, if one goes over the fence, you're still good to go.

Can't TELL you how I enjoyed serving with four balls in my hand and not having to pick up a ball until the game was over! A bit of gamesmanship, perhaps? First time a mixed team sees (you) serve with four balls, it's good for a snicker. Serve out the game without taking another ball and watch the guy get steamed! I miss those days!

I wasn't going to mention any names . A few years back, 'they' had the plastic tub with 15 cans for $30(Penn). Darned nifty re-usable tub with handles...great for collecting the round robin balls at the end, icing a few Powerades for courtside, storing stringing 'stuff', etc. I miss those tubs .

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the tubs are gone but last time I bought some at Costco it was 16 cans for $29 in a cardboard box. Still a good deal.

Exactly! I bought dozens and dozens of the 4-ball 4-can Dunlops over the years. Four-ball can is the way to go! 'Might' make it through a match without one or more balls going bald AND, if one goes over the fence, you're still good to go.

Can't TELL you how I enjoyed serving with four balls in my hand and not having to pick up a ball until the game was over! A bit of gamesmanship, perhaps? First time a mixed team sees (you) serve with four balls, it's good for a snicker. Serve out the game without taking another ball and watch the guy get steamed! I miss those days!

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BITD when AA had hair, even if he bought it. Cotton shirts, when shorts were short. Green gauze wrap and no shoe warranty.

I head straight for a certain UK based discount outlet, £6 for 2 tubes of Slazenger Wimbledon Ultra Hi-Viz. Cant complain about the price of those, no need to look elsewhere, even if the retailer is a bit 'odd'.

Hey guys! Consider yourselves lucky! Here, in Portugal, you get a 4 Ball Can (which is the most common), for about 5Euros wich is round about 6.5USD. You still can get some good deals buying packs, but even that way and buying at tennis clubs, it's not easy. Relatively to brands, they're sold at very similar prices. Most Common here are Head ATP and Champ. and Wilson Champ. In relation to Price/Duty id go for Head ATP. Even in hard courts they hold for a while in terms of felt and pressure.

I bought some Wilson Titanium tennis balls because they were $1.99 a pack. They are horrific with a large visible seem. Dunlops are the best I have used, I was expecting the Wilsons to be like comparable Penns, but they were much worse.

I wanna order some on the Internet but the best place to get balls is mc sports and that is far away but ***** sporting goods doesn't have a good selection and neither does wal Mart the ones at wal Mart are the Wilson titaniums and they are horrible

They are one of the best place for buying balls in my opinion because they always have coupons ^_^
Also they often have sales. During Black Friday Sales, SA sold a case (12 cans) for $19.99. Bought 4 cases with $5 coupon.

Kimguroo was right---SA here had 12 cans of Penn for $20 on Black Friday, except the SA's by me won't let you use coupons on tennis balls. $1.67 compared to $2.19 minimum was worth me buying the equivalent of 3 cases worth.

I'm not saying this b/c this is a TW thread; but w/a shipping charge at just under $6.00 per case I now buy them by the case from TW. With the cost of gas and the time saved it is well worth it. And I don't have to listen to the cashier ask if I wouldn't like to apply for the store credit card, and then ask two more times after I've said NO THANKS !!!